A Fire in the Sky

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /media/www/hollywood/Web/releases/20150325105258/vendor/doctrine/common/lib/Doctrine/Common/Annotations/FileCacheReader.php on line 202
Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /media/www/hollywood/Web/releases/20150325105258/vendor/doctrine/common/lib/Doctrine/Common/Annotations/FileCacheReader.php on line 202
Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /media/www/hollywood/Web/releases/20150325105258/vendor/doctrine/common/lib/Doctrine/Common/Annotations/FileCacheReader.php on line 202
'Dexter' Recap: This Is The Way The World Ends

By:
Hannah Lawrence
Dec 18, 2011

S6:E12 I find it very hard to believe this season of Dexter is over. I guess time flies when you’re having fun… or tracking two serial killers, who actually is just one serial killer because the second one is just a figment of the first’s imagination. “This was Travis. He killed these people. Because he needed a place to hide.” We begin with Dexter trying to swim ashore after Travis left him on a boat that was surrounded by fire. As he’s swimming, he contemplates if the world would be better without him and realizes that the one thing he’d miss if he were to die would be seeing Harrison grow up. He’s eventually rescued by a boat of people hoping to make it into Florida without the proper documentation and once they’re close enough to shore, all of them jump out and swim to the beach. Once back on land, Dexter reunites with Harrison and Jamie and tells them he just fell off his boat and that’s why he’s been gone for so long. He also reunites with Deb, who cries at the thought of almost losing him (again) and just blurts out that she loves him and that he must stop torturing her like this (even though it’s an angry sentiment, she’s not angry at all because at this point, she has realized she’s in love with Dexter). Dexter easily tells her he loves her too. Across town, Travis is preparing for his final act -- which is to take place during that day’s eclipse – by sketching a building on a paper bag and yelling at the dead people in the room to stop smelling. Later, Dexter and the police are called to the house Travis was living in, and find the husband and wife he killed so he could stay there. Dexter walks into the living room and sees a huge painting on the wall that’s of him and some demons, and he quickly cuts away at his face before the rest of his team walk in, and goes to take pictures of the crime scene. Travis casually drives down the street and sees his hideout swarming with police, and he asks God for guidance. He takes out Dexter’s wallet and after he gets idea to go to his house, and he thanks God for not giving up on him yet. Back at the office, the police try to figure out where Travis is by analyzing Gellar’s old notebooks and they realize he’s headed towards a skyscraper so he can have a great view of the eclipse – but his drawing shows him WITH someone else. Dexter privately looks up some of Miami’s tallest buildings and finds the one that seems to match one of Travis’ sketches that he swiped from the house before the cops got to it. “So jump to the sky, repent of your sins. Run to your savior and you’ll be saved again.” – Travis Travis brings Harrison to the top of the building and stands by the edge holding him in his arms, waiting for the eclipse. He starts praying, and Dexter suddenly appears on the roof with them – but first finds the guard he killed. Dexter keeps running until he finds Travis holding Harrison, and he tells Travis that until the beast is dead (meaning Dexter), he cannot properly sacrifice Harrison and have it be meaningful. Travis asks if Dexter brought any of his needles with him and Dexter says he has, but he’s not going to give them to Travis until he puts Harrison in an elevator and sends him back down to the lobby. Travis puts Harrison in the elevator and then instructs Dexter to inject himself with the M99, and Dexter does. He collapses to the ground and just as Travis is about to kill him, Dexter wakes up and a struggle ensues. He knocks Travis unconscious and retrieves Harrison from the elevator. He grabs everyone and leaves just as Deb and her team race up to the roof and find the dead officer. “I don’t think he understood that I’m in love with him, but still he said the actual words.” – Deb Deb barges into her therapist’s office and tells her that she told Dexter she loves him, and that he said it back to her. She says he probably meant he loved her as a sibling, but she is still amped that she finally told him she had feelings for him (even though her feelings were disguised as feelings you have for a sibling). Deb sits down on the couch and admits it makes sense now, and understands why all the men she’s ever dated in her life were always substitutions for Dexter, or had things in common with him, and now it’s her mission to convey to her brother just how much she loves him NOT like a sibling. Meanwhile, Dexter puts Harrison to bed and then drives Travis to the old church and wraps him in cellophane, just like old times. Once Travis regains consciousness Dexter asks him why his faith means he’s allowed to commit murder and Travis doesn’t provide an answer, and instead Dexter is an example of how “putrid” mankind is. As Dexter cuts Travis’ face and takes his blood sample, he tells Travis that there’s a place for him and his serial killer ways in the world, and explains it’s his job to make sure the world stays in balance and that neither light nor dark overpowers the other. He then kills Travis with a rusty sword, and Deb watches from the doorway. Initially, I had trouble with this season because it seemed like Dexter wasn’t his cheery usual self. Previously, we would see him bringing donuts around and working hard to conceal his serial killer identity with pleasantries and jokes. I became very fond of that guy, and so I was disappointed when it was clear that guy wasn’t going to be part of the sixth season. I was upset and missed the old Dexter but now that the season is over, I understand why that sweet guy had to go away, and it was because Dexter’s life has changed since then. He now has Harrison, and while you would think that means he would be doing everything in his power to protect himself from getting caught (by not killing anyone) so his son can have a father, it’s almost as if Dexter knows he’s not going to see Harrison grow up, and so he’s done pretending he’s just like everyone else, and I think that’s why he gave off a distinctly darker aura this season. Additionally, he struggled with his identity tremendously – this whole time he’s been trying to figure out what his purpose is, and if his tendencies mean he’s inherently evil. But in a way, he found himself through Travis. By comparing his kills to the ones Travis committed, Dexter was able to understand that he’s not evil at all (which is something we’ve known the whole time). I also really appreciate what happened with Deb this season. She was under a great amount of pressure with her new promotion, and the majority of the time we watched as she struggled to fulfill her new responsibilities. But I have a feeling next season will be much harder for her, and I love the idea of her sexual attraction to her sibling being a storyline – ESPECIALLY when she just watched him murder someone. I really can't wait to see where' we're going from here.

Out of IMDb's Top Fifty Westerns of all time, only five of the ranked movies were made after the year 1990. Kind of amazing, considering the genre was one of America's staples back in the early half of the 1900s, capable of spitting out a few dozen titles in a single year. But either audiences lost interest or Westerns lost their luster, as these days, the horse-riding, pistol-toting adventures only make their way into theaters when they're mixed with "blockbuster friendly" genres (Cowboys &amp; Aliens, Rango, Jonah Hex) or directed by auteurs with Oscar potential (The Coen Bros' True Grit).
But thanks to the world of independent film, the spirit of the Western is being kept alive—and, frankly, it might be the best way to do it.
Limiting the scope is what makes Blackthorn—a new film out now on VOD and in theaters October 7—a compelling, tension-filled Western. Forget large-scale set pieces—this isn't 3:10 to Yuma or any of the other action-driven cowboy stories of late. Instead, Blackthorn unfolds a character-driven quest across a sprawling backdrop, centered on one of the more infamous bandits in history: Butch Cassidy (played by rugged writing/acting legend Sam Shepard). The movie follows Cassidy—now living under the alias Blackthorn—as he wraps up a twenty-year stint in Bolivia and prepares for his journey back to America. With a horse, a gun and his life savings in hand, Cassidy makes his way across the Bolivian desert, a journey rudely interrupted by an on-the-run criminal, Eduardo (Eduardo Noriega). After a brief skirmish, Cassidy's horse runs off, leaving the two warring men to work together for survival.
Westerns are at their most familiar (and often cartoonish) when they let the plot do the talking. How many times can we really watch X rescue Y so he can Z without having an ounce of emotion invested in the scenario? Blackthorn rectifies the issue, not by conjuring up a crazy, never-before-seen plot, but by filling it with characters we care about. Whether intended or not, it plays like a spiritual sequel to the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, including some flashback scenes starring a young Butch (courtesy of Game of Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).
What really transforms Blackthorn into a fresh take on an archetypical story is Shepard's Cassidy, a man burdened by his outlaw past. Through Shepard's weathered exterior, we understand Cassidy seeks redemption—which he believes will come after reuniting with The Sundance Kid's son. Blackthorn is at the end of is life and with only one goal, so while he's OK taking the life of anyone that stand's in the way of his mission (and, boy, does he do so), he's also accepting and warm to those who may have crossed him. He befriends Eduardo and contemplates the life pursuit of his lawmen hunter Mackinley (Stephen Rea). He reflects on the memories of his past that continue to haunt him, all while crossing the dangerous landscapes of Bolivia and escaping enemy fire.
Director Mateo Gil, writer of Abre Los Ojos (the original Vanilla Sky) and Oscar-nominee The Sea Inside, sets his film in a lush, unique setting and puts all his chips on Shepard. The gamble revitalizes the genre. Whereas HBO's Deadwood didn't feel anything like Stagecoach, Blackthorn's gritty, intimate tale maintains the most important part of the Western: the soul.
="FONT-STYLE:>

S1E2: Pan Am may be one this season’s biggest surprises for me. I expected to hate every second of the ‘60s themed romp in the sky, but it’s managed to weasel its way into my heart with just two episodes. Call it false nostalgia (seeing as the oldest decade I stepped foot in was the ‘80s) or a knack for quoting Doris Day movies alongside James Bond ones, but the new ABC series has me hooked. It’s aesthetically refreshing; the crisp blue uniforms and sterile, yet inviting aircraft interiors contrasted with the lavish digs our Pan Am ladies end up in on the ground pop on the television screen. Plus, the drama ranges from typical ‘60s times-they-are-a-changin’ family problems to international espionage and missing persons. It’s all the fun and intrigue you hope for on a Sunday night – especially when the folks over at Desperate Housewives have clearly lost their touch.
“She should have saved the fare and flown on her broomstick.” –Kate
Let’s start with our main characters – who despite what you’d assume are not played by Christina Ricci. Laura and Kate prepare to leave for Paris together, a trip which is one of Laura’s lifelong dreams, just as Kate is regaling Laura on how she got Laura’s things back from their mother. If we believed her description, we’d be forced to remember their mother as Malificent in dragon form, breathing fire on tiny townspeople.
In reality, she’s just a well-dressed woman who shows up at the airport just as Kate receives instructions from her CIA contact, who’s annoyed that she’s distracted. When she gets on the plane, she confirms it: the woman she was staring at is in fact her mother, and she’s on the plane. Laura and Kate fight over who will serve their mother, with Kate as the unhappy victor after we see a flashback of Kate sticking up for Laura when they mother follwoed them to a diner in attempt to force the fleeing bride to come back home. There’s just one big problem: their mother isn’t there to see Kate. She’s waving around the month-old Life Magazine with Laura’s face on it. Offended, Kate insists Laura take care of her. In the air, her mother sweetens Laura up, tells her how much she misses her, and when they’re on the ground in Paris, they make plans to travel together. Everything’s dandy until she sees why her mother really came: she brought Greg (Laura’s jilted ex-fiancé) to win her back.
When Laura bolts, she runs into Kate who immediately confronts their mother about ruining her only chance to get her daughter back while making sure to guilt her mother for not caring enough about her. Later, her mother comes to her room to show her that her unused passport was issued the summer Kate got her stewardess job, which is great because no one’s mother is as heartless as Kate thought she was. However, before this happy realization, Kate is approached by her contact in mid-conversation with her mother. Her contact is none other than the missing Pan Am stewardess: Bridgette.
Laura meets briefly with Greg, who is apparently the biggest sweetheart in the entire world. Even though she ditched him on their wedding day and bolted after he flew all the way to Paris, he tells her that he once had a dream to go to Mount Kilimanjaro and that if this is her Kilimanjaro, he’s happy for her. Only in the ‘60s were people that insanely sweet.
“I am not included with the price of your ticket.” -Maggie
At inspection, Maggie gets feisty – and we had to know this was coming, she lives in the Village after all. When Mrs. Havemeyer says Laura’s a pound too heavy, Maggie retorts that they ought to way Mrs. Havemeyer to be fair. Just as she’s about to get in a heap of trouble, Ted comes in as works his pilot-rank magic to get them out of inspection and onto the plane.
On the plane, Maggie is getting attention from a leering businessman – something that every stewardess has to learn to deal with – but at some point during the flight Mr. Elkins decides leering just isn’t enough. He seems to think she’s there for his every need. He corners Maggie in the galley and tries to force himself on her until she stabs him with a fork.
This leads to the man complaining – remember, this is the ’60s and things are still in the process of a-changin’ – to Ted, the co-pilot, about “the help.” And here’s where this show earns its worth: being a pretty ‘60s stewardess isn’t all flight bags and fancy hotels. Ted smooths it over and offers the man another drink, but Maggie isn’t satisfied. She makes that known, but all Ted does is say that he likes having her around but that if she doesn’t reel it in, she could get fired.
In Paris at their hotel, Ted sends Maggie a pastry with a fork stuck in it as a joke. He seems honestly ignorant that his actions were wrong, but she finally lets him have it: his actions made it okay for men like Mr. Elkins to try that with other girls. It’s something that at the time wouldn’t seem as urgent to a pilot, but things had to change at some point and I’m glad Pan Am is dealing with it. Of course, it seems that it may also come with a side of will-they-won’t-they romantic undertones.
“She may like her boyfriends, but she loves her husband.” –Collette’s translation
Collette gets a ride to the airport from Dean when her car breaks down, and the spillover of inside jokes and little interactions gets the pilots talking. Is Dean already over Bridgette? It would seem not, but that doesn’t keep him from flirting his blues away with Collette.
On the plane, he mentions a Parisian night club he once went to (with Bridgette, where he witnessed her getting into a tussle with an unidentified man) but he implies he’ll take Collette there. When they get to Paris, he comes to her door and asks her to help him find this club. At the club, he admits that he asked her to come so that she could help him talk to the maître d’ about Bridgette’s whereabouts. The man tries to pretend he doesn’t remember Dean, but ends up saying that Bridgette is actually married.
When Kate meets with Bridgette after their rendezvous, we find that she’s not so much married as she is in big trouble. That night at the club was the beginning of the end. She’d screwed up her orders and the man grabbing her was an MI-6 agent telling her she’d really stepped in it. The box Kate is delivering are her new orders: hiding out in middle America for the rest of her days because her identity was compromised. She warns Kate that this life could mean losing everything, but Kate still wants it and Bridgette says that’s why she recommended her.
Just as this new life is starting, it seems that drunken Dean is moving on as well. He flirts more with Collette and then they dance in the streets of Paris as nuzzles her neck. Man, that was quick.
Pan Am is really taking off, but I just hope that the pre-flight/in-flight/new city formula will get shaken up a bit or it could start to feel a bit stale.

Okay. Fine. I'll live.
I went on a desolate three-day bender after hearing that Bryan Cranston was dropping out of Gangster Squad, which compiled the most monumental assortment of actors in the history of time. I wasn't sleeping, I yelled at strangers... but there is a bright light on the horizon, and a fire in the sky. Robert Patrick, the Terminator 2 villain, will be taking Cranston's role. Although I'll never truly be happy with anyone accepting the character of Max Kennard, I don't have much to say in the vein of negative criticism regarding Patrick.
Max Kennard is a didactic Texan police officer based in Los Angeles, hellbent on doing his job to a fault. Kennard has that in him. In fact, I think it's a role pretty well-suited for him.
No matter what, Ruben Fleischer's film will be a sensation: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Holt McCallany and Emma Stone. THAT'S how. But you probably already knew most of that, since this film is huge enough to be overshadowing everything from the economic crisis to whatever else exists in the present period of time (I wouldn't know, I've only been focusing on this film).
Source: Indiewire

This week commemorates the birth of a truly great man. If you count yourself a movie fan and the words Brian Trenchard-Smith don’t immediately register in your consciousness, this is a supreme travesty in need of immediate rectification. Brian Trenchard-Smith is an Australian director whose films represent the very finest in what has come to be affectionately dubbed Ozploitation; that is, genre fare from the land down under. After seeing the documentary Not Quite Hollywood, and meeting the man himself at Fantastic Fest, I became intrigued by his work. Turns out his films are not readily available in the States, but thanks to my good friend and life-long BTS junkie Brian Kelley, I have since become versed in his catalogue. In honor of Brian Trenchard-Smith’s birthday, I present a list of some of his absolute best films; all well worth the arduous search necessary to acquire them.
Escape 2000 (AKA Turkey Shoot)
The landscape of b-movies is rife with films depicting men engaging in the hunting of men. And while you’d be hard-pressed to find a title within this nefarious sub-genre that I don’t absolutely love, there is something about those set in Australia that makes me wonder if society may actually be rapidly approaching a future replete with these barbaric games. Escape 2000, not content with the trifle lunacy inherent in its concept, makes every effort to push the bounds of cinematic WTF?! The story is strong, the violence is impossibly entertaining and by the time you reach the film’s werewolf, whom no one is prepared to explain, you’ll understand why BTS is regarded as the Roger Corman of Australia.
The Man From Hong Kong
I’ve seen a goodly number of low-budget kung fu movies in my time. Ordinarily, one makes a few concessions when watching these films. The story will be almost nonexistent, the production values flimsy, and, apart from the fights, the stunts won’t be anything to write home about. BTS soundly turns his nose up at this limitation and brings us one of the most explosive martial arts movies of all time. Jimmy Wang Yu’s brutal hand-to-hand exchanges with baddies are equaled in spectacle by thrilling car chases, high-flying acrobatics, and dubiously safe fire stunts courtesy of innovative water gels. BTS actually demonstrated the “safety” of these water gels to his actors by setting himself ablaze right before their eyes. If you aren’t in love with this film by the time you hear its theme song, Sky High, you may want to check your pulse.
Deathcheaters/Stunt Rock
Grant Page is one of the most fearless stuntmen on the planet. The feats he so willingly attempts, at more-than-considerable risk to his own life, are astonishing to behold. While Deathcheaters and Stunt Rock are allegedly two separate films, they are included in tandem on this list due to their similar ambitions. Each one is less a film and more a loosely constructed stage wherein Mr. Page plies his dangerous trade. And while Deathcheaters has what more closely resembles a plot, Stunt Rock has the band/magic act known as Sorcery. Advantage: human race. But plots are completely inconsequential when the alternative is more scenes of Grant cascading down mountain faces, dodging landmines in full sprint, or driving like an invincible demon.
BMX Bandits
If you ever had a BMX bike as a kid, this is your Citizen Kane…it also helps if you’ve never seen Citizen Kane. When a trio of bipedal rascals comes across a boss set of walkie-talkies, they think they’ve discovered the key to one awesome summer. Too bad the previous owners of those walkie-talkies are arch criminals who would kill to get them back. Few kids movies are as wholeheartedly enjoyable to movie fans of all ages as BMX Bandits. The almost desperate love affair BTS has with BMX bikes shines through with wondrous absurdity. These bikes can go anywhere so there is no shortage of chase scenes involving befuddled adults not being to follow the rambunctious preteens as they ride through malls or…down waterslides? Nicole Kidman stars in one of her earliest film roles and she is just too darn cute for her own good. BMX Bandits is currently available on Netflix Watch Instantly and I highly suggest you do.
The Siege of Firebase Gloria
If his mission was to prove to the world that his talents lay strictly within the confines of the b-movie, BTS made a massive miscalculation with The Siege of Firebase Gloria. A hard-nosed soldier is sent to a dilapidated instillation and must defend it against a steadily advancing Vietcong. Beautifully shot, expertly written and featuring stellar performances from Wings Hauser and Hollywood’s go-to drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey, The Siege of Firebase Gloria is a 100% legitimate war film that excels on every conceivable level. Ermey’s narration adds just enough irreverent laughs to keep the film from taking itself too seriously, but the ending is insanely moving.

When Warner Bros. started making movies out of the Harry Potter books, we all knew we’d have to accept that some our favorite parts may not make the final cut. It’s completely understandable that when movie-makers cut the books down into films that the extremely complex world loses some of the details, but that doesn’t mean we all don’t have a laundry list of things we wish didn’t hit the cutting room floor.
Before I dive into this list, I want to preface it with the fact that these are just my top 10 and that J.K. Rowling herself has been involved with the film-making process. I’d wager to say that no one can claim the ultimate list of Potter things skipped, because there are just far too many remarkable moments in the books. That said, these are my top 10 missing things, but I’m sure there are hundreds of other amazing bits from the 4,175 page saga that didn’t make it either.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone: Hermione's potions challenge before Harry confronts Professor Quirrell
In the movie, Hermione stays behind with Ron after he’s knocked out playing wizard chess and tells Harry to go ahead, pausing to tell him what a great wizard he is. Luckily, her speech about Harry is taken right from the book. The part that is missing is the potions challenge that follows Wizard’s Chess. In the book, Hermione continues on with Harry and solves a logic puzzle that helps her choose the right potion to get through a wall of black fire from a slew of bottles that include poison and wine; she does this all using logic, not magic. It’s that distinction that makes the scene important. Hermione comes from Muggle parents and developed some very practical skills that the wizard-born kids haven’t yet honed. Plus, it promotes the idea that magic can’t solve every problem and grounds Potter’s Wizarding World in a bit of reality. It’s also a short piece and it really wouldn’t have added much length to the film’s runtime. In other words, there’s no excuse.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone: Dumbledore’s Insight on Death
When Dumbledore explains to Harry that the destruction of the Sorcerer’s Stone means ultimate death for the previously immortal Nicholas Flemel, he also explains that, "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” In the film, this single line and sentiment is completely and unnecessarily eradicated. While I’m sure they took it out because it’s a rather mature concept, I don’t agree with its removal. If kids are mature enough to read lines like that in J.K. Rowling’s books, then they can hear lines like that in the film. Plus, it truly sets the tone for the entire series. Harry has to cope with the death of his parents every day and very heavily throughout the first book. As he grows and the war with Voldemort approaches, he has to come to terms with the death of friends and fellow wizards again and again and again. It’s just a single line, but it’s actually integral to the entire series. (Plus, Rowling has Harry repeat it to Ron and Hermione after he talks to Dumbledore, which only increases the case for its effect on Harry’s development.)
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets: Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day
This little vignette is completely missing in the film adaptation. In the book, Harry, Hermione and Ron are invited to Nearly Headless Nick’s Death Day celebration and Harry attends in lieu of going to the school feast. The scene gives us a glimpse into the surprisingly human interactions between the Hogwarts ghosts. Nearly Headless Nick is ridiculed and left out of the headless hunt because he’s only nearly headless, and it weighs on him. While it’s a great deal of silly fun, the scene is also important because it’s one of the points when Harry really gets it. In the first book he forms great friendships with Ron and Hermione and he learns a lot about magic, but he’s still pretty much a deer in headlights. When he reaches this point, he finally sees that these strange people whose world he’s still very new to are actually human despite their supernatural eccentricities. And just as Harry has this realization, it’s solidified for the reader as well.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Winky the House Elf
Winky was the house elf for the Crouch family and is magically tied to Barty Crouch Jr. (a convicted Death Eater). At the Quidditch World Cup, she is with him when he escapes to the woods to send the Dark Mark into the sky. He stuns her and leaves her alone as he flees and Winky is blamed for the Dark Mark. Barty Crouch Sr. eventually frees her in order to clear his family of blame for the Dark Mark, but it’s his rash mistreatment of the house elf that drives her to become a drunk and eventually inspires Hermione to create S.P.E.W. which was also left out of the films. (I’ll get to that.) Winky definitely complicates the plot, but once again her presence brings a measure of humanity to the creatures of the magical world and elevates their status from little more than cartoon characters. Characters like Winky lend depth to the books and the concept as a whole and by leaving them out, the films really lack that element.
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire: The Sphinx Challenge in the Maze
Missing from the film version of the maze in the Triwizard Tournament is Harry’s encounter with the sphinx. Harry solves the sphinx’s complex riddle which allows him to get closer to the Goblet faster than everyone else without using any spells. The scene is another short one that could easily have been included. It’s an introspective moment and it works to deepen Harry’s character. Something the films do far too often is dump Harry, Hermione, and Ron into categories: The hero, the brain, and the lovable screw-up, respectively. This scene is one that really brings out Harry’s intelligence and ability to think on his feet and it would have served to create a richer depiction of Harry instead of leaving us with the “broad strokes” style hero the films seem to promote.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix: Hermione creates SPEW
As I mentioned, this is tied to Winky’s absent storyline and is absolutely nowhere in the films. I can resign to the fact that they probably didn’t have time to really delve into the creation and promotion of SPEW (The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare), but they could have at least weaved in a few references – like perhaps a badge on her robe and a few lines mentioning her role as founder? In the books, the concept does get fairly complex but it wouldn’t have been too difficult to include a simplified reference. Once again, it’s integral to the way Rowling builds Hermione’s character and its absence takes away a piece of her personality.
Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix: Nearly Headless Nick's Talk with Harry After Sirius' Death
After the battle at the Ministry of Magic, Harry finds Nick hoping to learn that he won’t have to live without his Godfather after all. Thinking that since Nick came back as a ghost that Sirius will too, he asks Nick about how wizards can become ghosts. Nick replies simply, saying that Sirius won’t return as a ghost. He then explains the idea of choosing “a feeble imitation of life” like Nick did instead of accepting death. This, like Dumbledore’s quote from book one furthers the idea of accepting death, something the Harry has to come to terms with again and again throughout the series. (This second lack of Nearly Headless Nick also underlines the fact that he seems to be missing from the movies, post-Prisoner of Azkaban. Not only is Nearly Headless Nick a great character, but any excuse to see John Cleese in a movie is okay in my book.)
Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix: Neville's Parents At St. Mungos
Harry and Ron visit Ron’s dad in St. Mungo’s and in the book they also encounter Gilderoy Lockhart (who I’m okay with filmmakers leaving out) and Neville Longbottom visiting his parents, both permanently mad from the Cruciartus Curse that Bellatrix LeStrange tortured them with. This is an extremely important moment, and I remember when I read the passage in the book that it made my stomach do somersaults. This moment not only makes Neville a three dimensional character, but it also bonds him with Harry. Harry immediately feels more connected to Neville, experiencing a “rush of understanding” and working to distract everyone to make sure no one else notices Neville. It’s also important because Neville’s parents were Auror's and Harry is considering making that his wizardry career path. Auror's hold one of the most well-respected wizard jobs out there, but seeing Neville’s parents this way also serves as a sort of “with great power comes great responsibility” moment.
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince: The Prime Minister Meets Cornelius Fudge
The sixth movie forgoes the first scene of the book, where the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appears to the Prime Minister in his office. Eschewing this scene, filmmakers instead use a completely fabricated sequence depicting Harry flirting with a waitress in a London train station and Dumbledore subsequently swooping in and killing his game, which was just ridiculous. The opening scene of the sixth book is crucial because it answers the question that has been piqued here and there throughout the entire series: How can this world exist and be marching towards this huge war without any integration with the Muggle world? Well, this scene would have explained that and put it into perspective pretty well had it been included. I also enjoy the scene because it’s kind of a last-minute plea for the non-Potter believers. Yes, these books are about wizardry and that’s hard to get on board with because it’s not grounded in reality, but the conversation between the two leaders does a nice job of marrying the two sensibilities.
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince: Bill Weasley and Fleur's Romance
This one is just something I’d like to see, and I completely understand why it didn’t make it into the films. I just simply love the plot of Bill and Fleur. It’s sort of typical fantasy; Fleur changes her superficial ways for love. When Bill is attacked by Greyback and assumes some wolfish tendencies, Mrs. Weasley assumes Fleur will be out the door in no time, but Fleur loves Bill and says she’ll stay and marry him. Also, the seventh book starts with their wedding and that’s where Harry and friends find out that Voldemort has seized control of the Ministry of Magic and thus, the entire Wizarding World. It would simply be nice for non-readers to have had a little insight into Bill and Fleur’s romance, especially since she was a significant part of Goblet of Fire and her wedding will serve as an integral turning point in the final chapter of the series.

The 85-year-old screen veteran passed away on Wednesday (29Sep10) after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Nevada.
Caine was among the first to pay tribute and he shared his special memories of the Some Like It Hot star, including their first meeting when he was prompted to stop smoking after Curtis destroyed his personal tobacco stash.
He tells Sky News, "I just learned myself (about Curtis' death) and it was a terrible shock and instantly I remembered the first time I'd met him. I was at a party, it was in winter and there was a fire and I was chain-smoking at the time, smoking a lot of cigarettes.
"I took one cigarette and lit it with another and threw the dog end (butt) in the fire. I was stood there talking to someone and suddenly I felt a hand in my inside pocket and they took out my cigarettes and chucked them in the fire. I looked up and it was Tony Curtis.
"I'd never met him and he was very famous. I said, 'What did you do that for?' And he said, 'You're going to die Michael if you keep doing that.' I didn't give them up then but I did give them up eventually."
But Caine insists Curtis didn't live by his own health warnings, adding, "He took all my cigarettes and threw them in the fire - and two weeks later he was caught at Heathrow airport with marijuana."
Other stars to pay tribute to Curtis on Thursday (30Sep10) included his friend Sir Roger Moore, who said, "I'm very sad... He was a hell of a good actor. I shall miss him."
Burlesque beauty Dita Von Teese wrote on on her Twitter.com blog, "Sad to hear of the passing of the great Tony Curtis," while British talk show host Sir Michael Parkinson added, "He was an extraordinary man. Hollywood tried to make him into a sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s but he was his own man. He was a great chat show guest and was wonderfully indiscreet but he was very bright and did not take himself too seriously."

'The Bachelorette' Recap: Trouble In Paradise
S6:E9 Everyone, look how far we’ve come! We were down to three guys last night on The Bachelorette, and that’s less than how many paper clips your cubicle-mate steals from you every day! I know, phenomenon. Where on earth does wasted time go?
Anyway, since Ali’s so close to making the decision which guy she dated under abnormal conditions and circumstances that she’d like to try and have an average and normal life with, the four flew to the most average and insignificant place in the world: Tahiti! Over the next week or so, Ali made out with all of the guys in the water and solidified our suspicions that The Bachelorette’s second item of business is to turn everyone into alcoholics.
The first few days on the island, Ali hung out with Roberto. They passed the majority of their time in the water, on a heart-shaped island they were way too amazed at. They had dinner on the beach, looked at the sky, and Roberto told Ali he was falling in love with her. Ali did not say she was falling in love with him as well, which leads me to believe she’s not allowed to say it on the show. At the end of their time together, Ali invited him into the fantasy suite that had candles on the floor and even more alcohol. Ali barely noticed how close she came to setting her feet on fire because she was more concerned with taking Roberto’s shirt off, after she deemed it too “wet” for him to wear (even though they only had to walk through the water to the fantasy suite and not swim to it.)
Ali spent the next day with Chris on a boat. They sailed around for a while and when they were ready to go do stuff on an island, were told their vessel couldn’t bring them ashore and they’d have to swim there. (I’ll let this go because there are more important things coming up in this episode than how illegitimate it is for a boat -- which is designed to take people from one SHORE to another SHORE -- not having the ability to sail to the beach. I know it’s an issue of depth, but still.) So Ali and Chris put on their swim trunks, and the underwater camera captured what seemed to be like Chris having quite the hard time doing the doggy paddle. Not everyone was on the swim team in 5th AND 6th grade, right Chris? Once they got to the beach they started opening up oysters, as in totally breaking what connects the two outer shells to each other and forms the little animal’s house that lives inside it, and taking the pearls out. So really, their little romantic day also consisted of a massive genocide. Only on ABC!
And now for the action. Frank was the last one to meet up with Ali in Tahiti. But before we saw that and watched the other guys on the island, we saw Frank fly back to his hometown of Chicago and confront his ex-girlfriend to see if he still has feelings for her. Now, I’m quite sympathetic to breakups, and to the residual feelings that remain even after the relationship has ended. But Frank’s an idiot and he should have known that the second he laid eyes on his ex, all the warm and mushy and comfortable feelings he had for her would obliterate anything he felt for Ali. This whole time Frank has worried about the likelihood of Ali choosing him or not, and that I understand too, because according to probability and fractions and stuff, the odds were against him being the one she’d end up with. This reality slowly ate away at him, and he chose to go back to what was comfortable and what was a sure thing, rather than waiting in limbo another day to see if Ali would eliminate him. So that’s right everyone, Frank chose to go back to his ex-girlfriend rather than take his chances with Ali. But first, he had to go to Tahiti to tell her!
Once he was in his own little love shack of betrayal and impatience, he told Chris Harrison what he was going to do and then sat around and waited for Ali. Of course, this was all surrounded with clips of Ali running around the island and saying how excited she was for the date, and it was quite depressing because we all knew Ali was about to be reduced to a bag of trash, without a twisty tie, at the dumpster!
The moment of truth finally arrived when Ali arrived at Frank’s villa. She giggled and embraced him openly when she saw him, and after a long silence passed, he said they needed to talk. Watch and learn how it’s done, men.
And here’s the aftermath, because I know you like watching blonds cry even more than watching an m&amp;m melt in the sun.
In the end, Ali had a rose ceremony even though it was obvious that both Roberto and Chris would get roses by default. Ali told herself it was important to have one anyway to see if the men would truly accept them, and her love in all the ways that Frank was unready to. Both guys proudly wore their roses, and Ali resigned that Frank was not the one for her because he was a “coward” and “dishonest,” even though she probably would have chosen him in the end.
But here’s the thing! Ali gave up everything to be on the show, and she keeps telling us that. It was her choice to leave her apartment, her job, and whatever else that’s important to her to do this show, that 9 times out of 10 is completely unsuccessful and doesn’t result in a marriage (or if it does, it ends in a divorce). And yet she’s totally surprised and flabbergasted when a guy, who’s completely unsure his feelings and has no control over the situation, chooses to go back home to a more stable relationship. I understand where Frank’s coming from -- he's an idiot, but I get it. The whole show works so hard to foster love that it creates all these romantic scenarios, but life’s not like that. It’s messy and mean and hard. You want to find a partner you can weed through all that with, not someone who’s in a bubble of bliss and delusion… because once you take that person back to your apartment that hasn’t seen a maid in years, the love that grew when you were both staying in hotel rooms and always had clean towels in the morning runs the risk of dying quite fast.

I struggle to think of another ‘80s film icon that has endured as strongly as the Predator despite only having been in a single good film. That’s not so much a dig on how bad Predator 2 and the pair of Alien Vs. Predator films are (though all three are certainly worth the derision) as it is a testament to how good the character is. His origins are an enigma but his motivations require no grand backstory: He’s an alien hunter who likes to keep the skulls of his prey as trophies. It’s simple really. And that’s why Predators the two-decades late sequel that should-have-been instead of the previous trio of disappointments works as well as it does.
Director Nimrod Antal and screenwriters Alex Litvak and Michael Finch have cut out all distractions all the fruitless complications most sequels experience as they try to overly explain any unanswered questions from the first film. Their story ignites with a bang and shows no immediate signs of pausing for needless introspection. Predators opens with Adrien Brody’s character falling from the sky into an unknown jungle where he meets up with a handful of fellow air-dropped jarheads each as equally confused as to what’s going on as the next. The audience knows exactly what’s going on though. They a collective sampling of Earth’s most lethal badasses have been parachuted onto an alien game preserve for the hunting pleasures of the Predators.
The first 30 or so minutes of the film are a much-needed refresher course on not only how to do ensemble-based action movies but how to make a film that cashes in on a previous phenomenon without betraying the people who made it a phenomenon in the first place. We know just enough about the characters to let our own real-world instincts fill in any of the gaps. And since we know the Predators are out in the jungle patiently stalking Brody and his defacto gang of killers there is also no need to de-cloak the alien killers prematurely. The result is an exciting feels-like-the-good-ole-days start to a movie that is constantly on its toes as it pits the group against a host of interesting challenges the Predators’ planet has to offer both old (elaborate hand-made traps) and new (they aren’t the only dangerous things the Preds dropped in by parachute).
However that is only the first 30 or so minutes of the film. Sadly around a third of the way through Antal and company have reached their cruising speed and from there on out Predators enters a predictable trajectory that doesn’t really aspire to introduce and explore more of the Predator world. For sake of keeping this review spoiler-free I’ll leave out the specifics but a plot device is introduced that promises to be yet another wild-card for the movie but it just shows up pauses to provide unnecessary exposition and then disappears. Unfortunately the momentum of the movie never fully recovers from this small but crucial misstep.
When it’s on fire though Predators is a total blast of all the extreme machismo and action-movie staples that made John McTiernan’s original such a seminal entry in both the sci-fi and action canons of cinema. Antal really knows how to balance an ensemble cast giving each character enough screen time to be memorable for one reason or another be it the weapon they carry or the lines they deliver lines seemingly engineered to be as quotable as possible (Walton Goggins’ dialog alone is reason enough to like the movie). And he also has great instincts for how to maximize the scale and scope of set pieces transforming jungle that is claustrophobic in one scene into a landscape so sprawling it seems like it could never be escaped in another.
That said even with a film that is significantly more exciting in the beginning than it is in the end a movie that is one-third great and roughly two-thirds above average isn’t exactly something to be angry about. Especially not in this summer’s current film climate where most releases have been unilaterally bad. It’s just unfortunate that Predators’ pacing problems later on the film give one’s mind plenty of time to wander to start to notice the gaps in the characters and internal logic within the script. Those are things you never really want to spend time examining in any action movie let alone a Predator movie. Had it come out when it was originally conceived by Robert Rodriguez over fifteen years ago it would have been perfect for the time period. All these years later though one must wonder how all those uneven spots weren’t ironed out in the intervening time. But all things considered this is unmistakably a Predator movie and to that end Predators is a faithful respectful hat tip to a franchise loved the world over.

At his first day of Sky High Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) the son of two of the greatest superheroes ever Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston) shocks everyone by exhibiting absolutely no superpowers. To make matters worse Will inherits an archenemy and family foe in Warren Peace (Stevens Strait) who can shoot fire from his hands. But Will's "Sidekick" status is quickly upgraded to "Hero" when he realizes he possesses superhuman strength. Newfound status in tow Will deserts his geeky pals and falls for Gwen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) a technopath who can control technology with her mind). But when Commander and Jetstream's biggest bounty the villainous Royal Pain comes back to threaten his family Will and his sidekick friends reunite to save them their friends and the destiny of Sky High. It's a tough first homework assignment but hey that's high school.
Veteran stars Kurt Russell (Miracle) and Kelly Preston (Eulogy) give comical performances as real estate agents by day superheroes by night but it's the younger cast that steals the show. Lords of Dogtown's Michael Angarano probably better known for his role as Jack's biological son Elliot on NBC's Will &amp; Grace flawlessly depicts an angst ridden high schooler dealing with teen pressures. Meanwhile Mary Elizabeth Winstead (The Ring Two) who plays Will's love interest Gwen gives a first-class performance as the most popular--and most hated--girl in school. But the heart and soul of the movie resides in the sidekicks: Layla (Danielle Panabaker) Ethan (Dee-Jay Daniels) Zach (Nicholas Braun) and Magenta (Kelly Vitz) who round out a young cast of lovable outcasts. Also look for some surprisingly delightful performances from Lynda Carter (the original Wonder Woman) as the school principal cult favorite Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead's Ash) as Coach Boomer and Kids in the Hall trooper Kevin McDonald as Mr. Medulla.
Director Mike Mitchell the man responsible for hilarious Rob Schneider comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Ben Affleck's fiasco Surviving Christmas strips this family comedy of the violence normally associated with characters that go "ker-pow" in the in dark alleys and infuses it instead with a old-fashioned comic book feel. As a scene changer for example he flashes the Sky High logo across the screen. And the special effects were surprisingly dazzling: Super strength is demonstrated by smashing the entire gym floor and the flying bus that took them to and from school all add to the film's appeal. Everyone's power--whether it be flying freezing flaming stretching or speed--is shown seamlessly which makes the film so pleasantly watchable. While the students may be "saving the world one homework assignment at a time " Mitchell's comic-y touch is the key to the film's success.

Synopsis

A fiery comet is hurtling toward Phoenix, Arizona, and an astronomer's desperate warnings fall on deaf ears among city officials in this lengthy disaster tale highlighted by some striking special effects and miniature work. Publicity releases for this movie insisted that a record (for a TV film) 5,700 extras were used in the exodus sequences and that the miniature work was the most extensive ever created for television. Emmy Award nominations went to this film for Special Effects and Sound Editing.